The new STaR Kit Chemistry ICT tool

Guest Post by Deborah Lim, Teacher at Tanglin Secondary School

Playing a game is inherently enjoyable. Whether it is scrabble, Uno, monopoly, basketball or soccer, the activity creates excitement.

Digital games never existed during my growing up years. Learning as a student then was less overtly exciting. Any sense of thrill derived from understanding what my teacher taught was expressed with a delightful smile.

My students grew up (and are still growing) in a digital-saturated environment. Teaching them chemical symbols, formula of ions and ionic compounds had been an uphill task.

Firstly, formulae are difficult to remember. Secondly, subscripts and superscripts can be mind-boggling. Thirdly, the concepts seem irrelevant to daily living. Fourthly, this sub-topic seem so dry and boring.

Yet, chemical formula is the language of Chemistry. It seems boring but it is essential to understand and to master the skill of formulating the formula of ionic compounds. Hence the StaR Kit “What’s your name and what are you made of?”.

A screenshot of the STaR Kit game

Animation, music, instant feedback, time-based game challenge were integrated with “dry instructions and explanations” of concepts in this ICT kit so as to raise the level of engagement and enduring understanding among my students.

This kit can be used in a self-directed lesson after students have been taught the sub-topic: formation of ions. It can also be used for revision. The learning section can be revisited at any point of time, so, students can set their own pace of learning before playing the game.

In whichever way this kit is used, I sincerely hope that teachers and students find it beneficial.

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ABOUT

The authors of Stir-fried Science are all associated with the Science Centre Singapore in one way or another. They are either working there, gave a talk or workshop, or are somehow involved in the centre’s activities.

The authors’ posts are not edited nor approved by the centre, so any views and opinions expressed here are entirely those of the authors and do not represent the centre’s official policy.